


5 Times Severus visits Harry in the Infirmary and the 1 Time Harry Returns the Favor

by EverybodyLovesEggsy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, At least not the whole time, Fluff, Injury Recovery, Open to Interpretation, Severus Snape Has a Heart, Severus Snape Lives, With small bits of, and Harry isn't oblivious, could be Severitus, could be slash, either way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:01:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23292886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverybodyLovesEggsy/pseuds/EverybodyLovesEggsy
Summary: Severus sneaks into the infirmary to be with injured Harry but leaves before he thinks anyone realizes. In other words, as said in the title.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Severus Snape, Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Comments: 13
Kudos: 340





	5 Times Severus visits Harry in the Infirmary and the 1 Time Harry Returns the Favor

The first time he does it, Harry was almost out of his first year.

It had taken Severus less than a month to realize that Harry was not the pampered prince that Severus had been led to believe and, after that, even less time to see that the boy was not his father. With those realizations, he was able to recognize the mask that was Harry Potter – the same mask that would have made Severus continue to believe that Harry was a mini James, had he not noticed the signs of abuse – and, slowly, he learned who the real Harry was through careful observation. The real Harry was a hidden snake in lion’s fur; The real Harry was as quiet as Neville Longbottom but as smart as any Ravenclaw; The real Harry didn’t like most physical contact, was not a Quidditch fanatic like Ronald Weasley, and hated being the center of attention. The real Harry Potter was so well hidden that Severus didn’t think anybody outside of himself saw him.

It was because Severus saw the real Harry Potter that the Potions Master found himself visiting the infirmary while Harry was there, unconscious, after facing Voldemort for the second time.

Severus wasn’t sure if it was because he saw so much of himself in the boy – minus the bitterness – or something else, but, for some reason, he found he couldn’t keep himself from just sitting with Harry. He had originally come – in the middle of the night, so as not to get caught –with the intentions of just making sure the boy was alright, but somehow ended up sitting in the chair next to the bed, just watching Harry’s chest rise and fall as the boy breathed.

Throughout the year, Severus had tried to think of ways to prevent Harry from being returned to his abusers. However, between needing to keep appearances for both Death Eaters and Albus – because Severus was under no illusion that the man was unaware or against using the situation to his advantage – the Potions Master could think of no way to safely and secretly remove the boy from his relative’s ‘care’. So now, as he sat watching Harry breathing, he wondered if he would find Harry right back in this bed at the start of the next year. He wondered if he would get the chance to continue learning who the real Harry Potter was, as he desperately wanted to.

Because when he realized that Harry was not James, every part of Severus wanted to find out everything he could about Lily’s child. About the boy who defied so many of Severus’s expectations. The boy that the Potions Master had somehow gotten attached to as he learned more about the real Harry, despite the unfortunate necessity of Severus appearing to hate Harry Potter.

But Severus was afraid that, by allowing Harry to return to his abusers, he would never get the chance. So, he stayed right where he was: sitting at the boy’s bedside, just watching him breath.

Severus stayed there until night began turning into day, light streaming through the windows, escaping only moments before Poppy appeared to check up on her patient.

* * *

The second time does it, Harry has no bones in his arm.

Severus wanted to kill that idiot, Lockhart, for doing something so stupid as vanishing the boy’s bones. It was because of him that Harry was sitting in the infirmary for a serious injury again. As if the boy didn’t have enough to deal with.

Like the first time, he was sitting in a chair next to the boy’s bed, watching his chest rise and fall with the deep breaths of sleep, thinking about, of course, Harry.

Harry had returned to Hogwarts – via flying car, of all things (though he was fairly sure that such an idiotic move had been Weasley’s idea) – thinner than ever and hiding small hitches in his breathing and movements. Yet another thing Severus was sure he was the only one seeing. While he was almost completely sure that Albus knew about the boy’s abuse (especially if Harry asked the stay at Hogwarts over the summer like he had when he was a boy) and was allowing it, he didn’t think the man, let alone anyone else, spotted the slight jerkiness in Harry’s movements, the clenching of teeth when someone hugged him, or even the small flinches at unexpected movements. Then again, Severus himself probably wouldn’t have noticed with how good Harry was at hiding it, had he not known to look for it after the previous year.

Severus had instructed the house elves to slip some nutrient potions into the boy’s pumpkin juice for the rest of the year due to how skinny Harry had become over the course of just a few months. He also had them leave a note that he didn’t sign for the boy to go visit Poppy, that he could trust her to keep his secrets the way Poppy had done for him when he returned broken and bruised. When Harry appeared in his class a few days later without any remaining hitches in his breath or jerkiness in his movements, Severus had to stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief.

And then Harry was found by Mrs. Norris’s petrified form and whispers spread about Harry possibly being the heir of Slytherin. Severus had nearly snorted in disbelief when Filch made the accusation. Had _anyone_ outside of himself bothered to learn the true Harry – the fact that no one had made Severus angry – they would think the idea laughable. While the boy was a hidden snake, there was nothing about Harry that indicated he would attack anything. Unfortunately, however, he remained the only one to see the shy, compassionate, smart boy that would have made his parents proud, rather than the Gryffindor Golden Boy turned Possible Heir of Slytherin.

Which had somehow led to someone tampering with a bludger and sending Harry to the hospital wing. If Severus was honest with himself, the entire incident had nearly given him a heart attack. Hopefully, Harry would learn how to stay out of the hospital wing in his remaining years at Hogwarts and save Severus from the stress.

* * *

The third time, Harry was nearly kissed for the second time that year.

The knowledge that Harry nearly got his soul sucked out of him made Severus want to wake the boy to make sure he wasn’t a living corpse. Luckily, Severus was well-versed in keeping up appearances and was able to restrain himself.

The dementors nearly kissed him and caused him to fall from his broom – and make Severus wish the boy would stop playing Quidditch with the amount of near death experiences that occur there – and once again nearly gave Severus a heart attack the first time, but the second time, Severus was furious. He had just put himself in front of Lupin – who forgot to take his Wolfsbane, the idiot – when the boy went and nearly got himself kissed trying to save his idiot godfather.

It was the first time Severus saw Harry truly react like the idiot Gryffindor he pretended to be, and Severus couldn’t decide if he wanted to throttle the boy or hug him – throttle him because he should know better than to rush in head-first and hug him because he knew Harry put himself in danger because of the hope of finally having a family.

Severus settled for, once again, just watching the boy breath while mentally berating him not unlike he how had seen Molly Weasley do so. He shuddered at the thought and told himself that he was just worried about the boy. Idly, he wondered when caring for Harry Potter had turned him into a Hufflepuff.

* * *

The fourth time, Harry escaped from Voldemort rising again.

Severus had never been so scared for Harry than when he felt the burn of the Dark Mark, indicating the Dark Lord’s return. He knew it was connected to Harry because someone had entered Harry into the tournament and the Mark had been darkening all year after that. He clenched his fist tightly, doing his best to ignore the burn, knowing that explaining his lack of appearance was going to be painful for him

A few minutes later, Harry appeared with Diggory’s body and announced the Dark Lord’s return. Severus felt relief rush through him at Harry’s appearance, even as he dreaded showing his face to the Dark Lord.

It was after his explanations with the Dark Lord that he was able to come visit Harry’s slumbering form, hands still shaking from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus Curse. He watched Harry’s eyes flicker behind closed eyelids and knew the boy was probably reliving Diggory’s death and the Dark Lord’s return and wished he could take it all away. Unfortunately, Severus was unable to and knew he would be having a similar nightmare once he went to sleep.

Severus let out a soft sigh and tiredly rubbed his faces with his still-trembling hands. He would give anything for Harry to have a normal year at Hogwarts, but now it would be even more impossible than ever, he knew. And now, when appearances mattered the most, Severus would have an even more difficult time secretly visiting Harry in the hospital wing, meaning Severus would have to rely on word of mouth to find out if the boy was okay. Precisely at the time he was most worried about Harry.

Severus looked at Harry one last time, not knowing the next time he’d be able to do so, openly, and, as always, was comforted by the boy’s soft breaths and the rhythmic rise and fall of Harry’s chest.

* * *

The fifth, Harry cracked his skull.

It had been two years since he was last able to visit the boy in the hospital wing, but it was also the first time since then that Harry was seriously injured. Severus was pretty sure that it was also Harry’s worst injury that he had acquired while attending Hogwarts.

It was another Quidditch injury, a bludger to the head by McLaggen’s arrogance if what he heard from Weasley was correct, making Severus that much more against Harry’s involvement in the sport. However, he had seen what flying meant to the boy the previous year when Harry had snuck out to fly the year before – the pure joy and relaxation on Harry’s face had stopped Severus from coming out of his hiding place to berate Harry’s risk-taking and he instead just watched the boy while also making sure that Umbridge didn’t see him – so he knew that Harry would continue with the sport while at Hogwarts.

With the war closer to the gates of Hogwarts than anyone realized, Severus didn’t blame Harry for refusing to give up one of the few things that brought him joy. He wished he could do the same.

Severus closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to push thoughts of the plan Dumbledore had recently revealed to him. Everything in him rebelled at what he was told he must do, just as everything in him wanted to help Harry more than he would be able to with the boy’s – no, young man, Severus thought as he opened his eyes to look at Harry once more – upcoming task.

But there was nothing he could think of that would help Harry more than Dumbledore’s plan. Severus focused back in on Harry, dearly hoping that this would not be the last time he could just _be there_ for the young man. Because despite everything, despite the fact that Harry probably hated his Potions Professor turned DADA Professor, despite all of the odds stacked against them, Severus truly cared for Harry and wanted nothing more than to see him survive the war.

* * *

A thread of awareness pulled at him, dragging him to consciousness. The habit of vigilance due to his years of spying was the only reason Severus blearily open his eyes to see what woke him. It wasn’t the first time he had woken since Nagini bit him – though the novelty of being alive hadn’t yet worn off – but it was the first time something had woke him through the haze of pain, exhaustion, and potions since that first time realizing he wasn’t dead.

Eyes half-lidded, he saw that is was dark, probably the middle of the night, and Harry was moving towards his bed.

With a frown, Severus slurred, “H’rry?”

“Sh, go back to sleep. I am just making sure you are okay like you have done for me all these years,” Harry whispered as he climbed into the bed.

Severus sleepily watched the young man in confusion as Harry pillowed his head on Severus’s chest and wrapped an arm across his torso. Why would Harry want to… _cuddle_ him? Didn’t he hate his vindictive professor, no matter what memories Severus may or may not have given Harry? Did that mean he knew Severus had visited him in the infirmary those few times?

“Go to sleep, Professor. We will talk in the morning”, Harry whispered.

The older man obeyed, exhausting dragging his eyes closed once more. Yes, they’d talk in the morning. Perhaps… perhaps this meant he wasn’t the only one who had come to care for the other.


End file.
